The popular app, Pinterest, has made the move to ban all weight-loss ads. There is no denying that children are spending a lot more time on social media now than they were even 10 years ago. They have the world at their fingertips, and they spend a lot of time scrolling through their favorite apps. The problem can come when their young, and developmentally impressionable, brains get “infected” with what they are seeing online. Body image issues can be a large problem for girls and for boys, and apps are starting to put some guidelines in place to create a healthy experience on their site.
According to NPR, Pinterest has decided to ban all weight loss ads from their site. Pinterest is a popular app where people can scroll through for ideas and inspirations and “pin” them to come back to later. Pinterest announced this in their press release that can be read here.
This move makes Pinterest the first major social platform to ban all weight-loss ads. The app was also guided by the National Eating Disorders Association. They were inspired to make these changes due to increases in specific searches.
The last year saw a record number of searches for healthy eating, lifestyle, and fitness as individuals grapple with the pandemic and may have put on a few pounds in the process. Facebook and Instagram have similar bans in place preventing “miracle” diets and like weight loss ads from showing up on their pages.
This can go a long way to making sure that young minds are not being pulled into an unhealthy relationship with diet and food. Pinterest has also had a history of protecting its users and it is a site that continues to be safe for young tweens and teenagers to be on.
If a user searches for anything related to eating disorders, mental health, and suicide then they are automatically redirected to mental health resources. Pinterest has said that their site has always been about belonging, and they want to continue to make it a place where everyone feels safe and like they belong.
These ads were banned starting July 1st, 2021 and the ads that are going to be banned will be any that include weight loss language and imagery. They have also spoken out and encouraged other websites to do the same with their platforms in an attempt to protect their users.
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